Karnataka steps up security for foreign tourists

Bangalore: In compliance of a directive by the
Union Home Ministry in the aftermath of the killing of
al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, Karnataka has stepped up
vigil across the state and also security for foreign tourists,
Home Minister R Ashoka said on Wednesday.

Security has been upscaled in places where tourists from
USA and Europe throng the state particularly in coastal areas
of the state, he told reporters here.

The Centre has directed the state also to keep vigil on
regions which house IT industries and also those thickly
populated to prevent any terror strike, Ashoka said.

The Centre has issued an alert to maintain vigil and
security in the coming one year, he said.
The state has decided to set up a police station each for
every 30 kms stretch on its 360 km coastline to maintain
vigilance and the expenditure was being borne by the Centre,
he said.

Six such police stations would be established soon and
the remaining in phases within this year, Ashoka said.

The state had already raised a 300-member strong commando
battallion for deployement during exigencies including terror
and naxal strike, he said.
The CRPF has decided to start a training centre in Belgaum
for which the state has agreed to provide 400 acres of land,
he said.